David Nolan Sat at a Bar
by Nephite
Summary: AU. Season 1 fic. David Nolan is moping in the bar over having to choose between Mary Margaret and Katherine when a mysterious stranger intercedes.
1. Cheeky Man

**AN: Hey all you Once fans that came here to read my fanfiction. I hope you enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not and probably never will own Once Upon a Time.**

David Nolan sat at the bar in Granny's diner drinking a glass of scotch. It, by description, had not been a good day. He had remembered, yes, but he wasn't sure his memories were worth all the pain he was now feeling. What he said "the right thing to do," the _right_ thing to do, _the right thing to do,_ went around in his mind until they didn't even sound like words anymore. He had thought it was the right thing to honor his vows to Katherine; but, he wasn't sure he was honoring his vows to her _now_. His heart belonged to someone else; can you really honor someone like that?

He took another swig of his cold drink; the strange burn going down his throat didn't do anything for the pain in his chest and gut. He groaned and set the glass to his head. He felt that even if he wanted to choose Mary Margaret over Katherine it was too late. It was a quick decision and now he was stuck with the consequence. "Great" he thought. Now he felt guilty for referring to Katherine as a "consequence."

"Make a wrong choice?" said a rusty Irish voice from the seat next to him. David jumped back to look at the old man with white hair. When David realized the man was talking to him he slouched back towards the counter.

"Honestly? I don't know."

"I do." He revealed. David turned his head to stare at the grinning man.

"Do you know me?" This brought the man's lips even further up his cheeks revealing a few missing teeth.

"This is our first time meeting, but I do know you. That woman, she is more than a simple fancy. It's love boy."

"Who are you talking about?"

The old man grinned deviously, "The one with hair as dark as ebony, skin as white as snow and lips red like the blood running in our veins. She's quite the beauty."

"Do I love her because she's beautiful?" David wondered aloud and the old man quickly shot the drunken thought down.

"No, it's most surely deeper than her appearance. You heart remembers something your head refuses." The man spoke speaking in such a manner that David hung on every word. The missing teeth and ungroomed appearance didn't take away from the bounty of knowledge the old man seemed to possess.

"But I have all of my memories back." He stated simply.

"You do not nor do the women. If they remembered, this would not cause dispute." David forgot about his drink while trying to understand what this man was saying.

"How?" he questioned, needing the answer.

"The child." David's eyes folded together.

"What child?"

"_Your_ child." He answered as if David should know who he was referring to, leaving David in a sense of shock at just the mention of him having a kid. He remembered his other memories, why wouldn't he remember having a kid?

"I don't-" David tried to counter the idea of him not knowing about a possible child of his but the man quickly quieted him by placing his hand on David's shoulder. A small piece of a memory, more real than any of his others showed itself in his mind.

_He looked down at the crying baby girl in his arms and back at the dark haired woman in the bed; her tears were growing stronger against her. He knew he had to go and soon or else it wasn't going to work, whatever it was. He tightened his face, trying to stay strong. Somehow he knew it meant they would be separated but there was a hope that this would save them. He knew there was a destination for the little girl but that he would still have the woman until a time he could see the precious child again._

The old man took his hand off of David and brought him back to reality. David's body hummed and he was near tears. He could feel the thousands of memories attached to that small one but they were lost; locked behind doors with keys just outside his reach.

"Now you understand?" David shook his head.

"Mary Margaret and I have a daughter?" He said it out loud in an attempt to figure out how it would even be possible. It sounded insane.

"More than just a daughter, you had an entire life of memories."

"Can you show them to me?" David asked desperately.

"I fear not; however, I will show you one more to ease your mind." The old man lifted his hand to David's neck to unlock a door.

_He could feel himself in the room. His eyes were closed and everything began to fade into the pain in his left abdomen. He had saved his daughter and, in that moment, that was all that mattered. Everything began to fade out: the voices of the other men in the room yelling, the light, until everything was black. _

David jerked away and his hands immediately covered the dull pain that was left lingering in his side from whatever infliction had caused it. He lifted his shirt and found a faded scar where the pain was.

"Impossible."

"I think the time has come to reevaluate your definition of possible." The old man said and stood up from the stool and began walking towards the entrance. David was sitting on his seat wondering about everything he had just seen when he realized the man was leaving. He immediately made his way out the door, _needing_ more information…more help. He looked left and right for the man and jogged down the street but he saw no one.

He went back to the diner to pay his bill and then began walking down the road, needing some air and open space to place his many thoughts. He couldn't stop seeing the images and feeling those two memories. They had felt more real than any of the memories he had remembered earlier; but, it didn't all make sense. If he had a daughter then why didn't Katherine or Mary Margaret remember? Katherine would know that they weren't together any longer and Mary Margaret, wouldn't she have told him they had a baby? It didn't seem possible but any time he thought that, he remembered the last thing the old man said. He couldn't deny the strange reality of the memories but he didn't know how he would explain that to Mary Margaret or Katherine.

Katherine already knew that he was leaving and needed space and Mary Margaret thought he loved Katherine more than her. He did love Katherine but nothing like the feelings he had for Mary Margaret. If he were to be honest he didn't know what he felt for her, just that there was something strong that connected them and connected him to the world.

There had to be a way that all this made sense. How they could forget. He understood how _he_ could forget, he had been hurt. His memory must have not fully recovered yet. But what could have happened to the women to make them forget? Did he possibly cheat on Katherine and now that he had memory loss Mary Margaret was denying ever knowing him? Would they do something like that? It didn't feel as if they had been having an affair in the memory. Then there was the question of his daughter, he had a daughter somewhere that he knew nothing about. He didn't know what he had done to save her or what that even meant. Right now he just wished he could see her. He wondered how old she would be, no more than a few years for sure.

He eventually found his way to the room at Granny's he had paid for. He lay on the bed and tried to close his eyes but it wasn't easy with the crowding of thoughts. He sat up shortly after deciding sleep probably wasn't going to happen. He looked over to the mirror across from the bed.

"Where have you been?" He asked himself curiously and stared at the image in the mirror; this man that he knew but yet it all felt like a lie. He looked back down and shook his head to attempt to shake the strange uncomfortable feeling. He looked around the room for some sort of distraction to help him at least get through the night until he could talk to Mary Margaret the next morning.

He found a copy of "To Kill a Mockingbird" on a bookshelf that held a couple books and magazines. He sat against the headboard and opened to the first page of reading. It took him a few pages to become fully distracted for another twenty but then his mind wandered back to his problem and he chose to take a quick restroom break before returning to reading. This distraction thing might be harder than he thought it would be. But when he got back to reading he stayed successfully distracted until he fell asleep, book still in hand.

He woke again at six with thoughts of Scout and Atticus Finch; which lead him to think of his own daughter. He wondered what she was like. All he had of her were a few memories of a newborn baby and the comfort that whatever he had done with her, he knew she was safe.

**I hope you enjoyed it! I will be continuing it if you guys like. Now, could you check if that review button is still working? Just drop a few lines about what you thought and click to see if it goes through? Thanks! :)**


	2. Making Habits

**AN: Hey guys! Thank you for all your reviews :) Here's the next chapter...sorry it took so long and I hope you enjoy it!**

**Oh, also...Disclaimer: I don't own Once Upon a Time...the show or phrase.**

Thinking and wondering if Mary Margaret knew anything; the only thing that kept him from running to her apartment were nerves. So he showered, ate breakfast, and read a few more chapters of his book (he had become sufficiently curious about what was next.)

He was finally ready to ask the hard questions and brought himself to leave his room at Granny's inn. He was determined though. He needed to know what happened and Mary Margaret was his only idea of who might have a clue in the entire town. It wasn't too long of a walk to the elementary school and the air had done him good. He looked around outside for her and when she didn't seem to be there he walked the familiar path to her classroom, the same as the day before.

He stepped in quietly, but she heard. She dropped her head to the side to glance out of the corner of her eye to see it was him. She looked solemnly back to the board.

"_What_ are you doing here?" She asked and stood staring at the board with soft tears blurring her eyes.

"I've remembered something else." He admitted, hoping it would make her turn around and look him in the eyes…it didn't.

"And you just had to come all the way down here and tell me this, why…?"

"I remember being in a relationship with you." This made her turn around with a laugh.

"Well, I can tell you right now that we were **never** together." He took a defeated breath; his only hope at understanding what had happened was gone. He shook his head and walked down the row of desks to get closer to her.

"Not that you _remember_. I remember. We had a baby, a little girl." He smiled fondly just thinking about the little child he could still feel the sensation of holding her protectively in his arm.

"You aren't thinking straight. If we had a daughter together then where is she." His eyes flickered black and his heart sank.

"I don't know. She's somewhere safe, though." He tried to convince her. He knew he was right about this and he wouldn't back down.

"David, please, just stop." She begged and walked past him. He looked to the floor and followed her feet with his head.

"The doctors can do exams, right?" Mary Margaret's face immediately transformed to disbelief. Was David _seriously_ asking what she thought he was? "Can't they tell if you've been pregnant or something? They were able to see that I had broken an arm as a child…so won't they be able to see if you have ever given birth?"

"David, you're sounding like a crazy person. Did you get any sleep last night?" He nodded.

"I slept fine. Just please, Mary Margaret. I'm just as confused as you are. I mean, I have these memories of us together and you having a baby girl. If you go to the doctor's maybe it will tell me if it was just my imagination." He pleaded softly with her, nearing tears. He could feel the memories were real, believed it down to his bones, but he didn't understand how Mary Margaret, Katherine, and he got to where they were now.

"And what happens when I find out there never was an "_us"_ or "_baby_." Where do we go after that?" He looked innocently with a hint of hope and sighed.

"Last night I couldn't bring myself to go home. My feelings for Katherine are nothing like what I feel for you."

"So you're saying you want to be with me?"

She said her question more like an observation but David still exhaled a, "Yes." This caused confusion for Mary Margaret.

"So why do I need to get tested? Why can't we just be together?" Mary Margaret thought. She didn't want to get this test to have it come back negative and have David suddenly not want to be with her; but, she knew if she didn't get the test he would always want her for the wrong reasons.

"I'll get the test, but just to relieve the idea that I ever had a baby. But you have to go, class is about to start." He grinned deeply until his eyes sparkled.

"Thank you. I'll see you later." There was no mistaking the joy in every word off his tongue. He left and Mary Margaret turned around with a deep breath. Their relationship would always be doomed. It started off badly and it was going to end the same way. Mary Margaret felt that something big was about to happen with them and it wasn't something she looked forward to.

# # # # # #

Katherine Nolan watched her husband exit the bed and breakfast. He was wearing one of the plaid shirts she had bought him under a tan coat as he walked, quick with determination, down the street.

She wasn't sure what her husband was up to, but she knew that whatever it was, it was keeping them apart. That was something Katherine Nolan could not stand for. She knew the price if they were to separate for good, and she wasn't willing to pay.

**Hey all! I hope you liked this chapter and still want more ;) I promise I'll upload faster than it took me this time!**


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